Pet Force: Jackal's Wrath
by Patchwork Poltergeist
Summary: Vetvix has summoned ancient evil sure to bring her victory. One that she, Pet Force, and the universe may be unable to handle. Updated version.
1. Finally, Someone Let Me Outta My Cage

Disclaimer: I don't own nothin, but my own characters.

Oh, and the planet Dune has no relation to the science fiction book. Although that book IS very good. You should read it. After you read this, of course.

Warning: May contain choking hazard to small children

"_Finally, someone let my outta of my cage. _

_Now, time for me is nothin' cuz I'm countin' no age"_

_- Gorillaz; Clint Eastwood _

**The tale so far...**

_There are a countless number of universes parallel to the one in which we dwell. Each astonishingly similar to ours, but, look closer, for there are differences. _

_Variations, be they be miniscule or momentous all hold great significance. _

_For example, in the universe we dwell in, one Jon Arbuckle is a kind, but dim-witted pet owner. In the particular universe concerning out tale, Jon is a kind, yet rather dimwitted emperor. In our own universe the pets Garfield, Odie, Nermal and Arlene are but mere pets, and Pooky a cuddly teddy bear. When these five make the journey into the realm of Emperor Jon, they are transformed into the superheroes that form the awe-inspiring team known as Pet Force: Garzooka, Odious, Starlena, Abnermal, and Compooky. Five heroes destined to rise to fight for the justice, freedom, the protection of all the innocent that inhabit the realm of Emperor Jon, and maybe to also pick up a pizza. _

_But, due to the changes and abnormalities in time between parallel universes, they are able to stay for days, sometimes weeks as Pat Force, while but mere nanoseconds slip by in their own universe. Due to this, Arbuckle never notices that his pets have gone. _

_Of course, being a few minutes behind the rest of world never hurts either. _

_When peril threatens the peaceful kingdom, more often that not it is the work of the evil veterinarian, Vetvix. Using dark magic and twisted spells more terrible than mortal minds can comprehend she has vowed to conquer the universe, and take the crown from the noble Emperor Jon. _

_And this universe would indeed fall victim to her villainous schemes, if not for the power of Pet Force-those five furry defenders of justice who have stopped her again and again. _

_Recently, Per Force had trapped the vile vet inside a force field, body split up by her own combination machine among a cow, gerbil, cheetah, and a lizard. But, due to an astonishing stroke of chance, due to a shock wave from a vessel transporting the latest threats to the universe, the Lethal Lizards (see book 5) she was now free to create havoc on the universe once more, and take her monstrous revenge on Pet Force! _

**Emperor Jon's Universe**

Sweat formed in little beads on the brow of Vetvix's head as she trudged through the desert sands, cursing herself for buying an old, out of date map for cheep. But then again, so were pretty much all maps of the planet Dune, as it was now called. A large desert planet very close to the sun. Luckily, there had been no annoying people, or soldiers to get in the vet's way as she strode forth in her search, seeing as how Dune was completely uninhabited, not a single human on the entire planet. Perhaps it was the scorching 389 degree weather in the day, maybe the -10 temperature at night, or it might have been the deadly asps, cobras, and scorpions that scuttled about, with enough venom to kill in less than five seconds, maybe it was because it was rumored to be haunted by ghosts of the civilization that once thrived here, or it could have been because the cell phone reception here was terrible.

Whatever the reason, not a soul was to be found. In the past however, it had been the home of a great and fearsome empire, known as Kempt, quite similar to the Egypt in another familiar universe. Old ruins were dotted all around the plant, hidden deep underneath miles of sand and dust. Tips of ancient pyramids could sometimes be seen if one looked hard enough, which was exactly what Vetvix was doing. Unfortunately, the sand rover she'd rented to scan the desert (leaving her ship miles away so she'd be able to do so) had just exploded. For what reason, she did not know. She was an evil sorceress, not a mechanic. That was what slaves were for.

"Now let's see...I'm about...fifteen miles from where the monument of Azig once stood, so the temple should be right about...here."

Vetvix rolled up the map and tucked it back into her supply sack, then pressed a button on her belt. Almost immediately her flying Fortress of Fear landed quietly in the sand beside her. Various mutated servants and soldiers peered out of the windows, buzzing with curiosity as to what their master had been planning for the past year, she'd spoken spoke her plans to no one. No one that is, except her pet Gorbull, and he couldn't talk anyway.

"Chirtax!"

A 5'6 gray gerbil/lizard poked its wide eyes head out of the ship, it's whiskers twitching nervously, holding his long tail and a notepad in his shaking little paws. His master didn't usually call upon lesser soldiers like him unless she needed someone to hit. Maybe she'd been unsuccessful, maybe the heat was getting to her. Whatever it was, he was sure it wasn't good.

"Chirtax, you're mostly gerbil, gerbils are from the desert. You know your way around places like this. Tell me, do you sense anything below your grotesquely large feet?"

The gerbil looked down and felt the sand under his toes. He twittered to himself nervously. He felt nothing at all...but if he said that doom would surely wait him. He'd have to tell her what she wanted to hear.

"Errr..umm...ye-"

"And _don't_ just tell me what you think I want to hear either! I'll know if you're lying."

The small soldier gulped, sweat running like a tears down his nose. "O you grand evilness, forgive this soldier's ignorance, but...I feel nothing."

"Of course you don't, idiot! But watch!"

Vetvix took a small sphere out of her pocket, it was about the size of a walnut, made of onyx with small slivers of gold twisting in fantastic designs. She glanced at the horizon, the sun had almost set, the time had come! In time to the vanishing sun, she concentrated slowly chanted the spell written on notepad Chirtax's scaly hands held up.

"_An-pu Ap-uat_

_Abehu 'sat _

_Em tut_

_Em 'suït_

_Em sefit_

_Em henen tut!_

_I-neker ma_

_I-na aa er ker!_

_Ut'a_

_Ut'a_

_Maaxeru semman_

_Nek en kekiu_

_Nek en asfet_

_Nek en neqatu_

_Nek an tut!_

_Ut'a rek, Nefer-Tut en kekiu_

_En asfet_

_En neqatu_

_En 'suït_

_En sefit_

_Ut'a rek!"_

Then- silence. The sun vanished and the blue-violet cloak of night came forth, bringing with it the stars. Vetvix held the sphere so that it caught the starlight, then with all her might, hurled it into the air. Chirtax gasped, positive the beautiful thing would shatter into a thousand pieces. But it did not. As soon as it was airborne, two little beatle wings sprouted forth and the sphere took the form of a black and gold scarab beetle. The beetle dive-bombed down into the sand, forming a sinking hole as it buried under.

Vetvix stepped back, eager with anticipation.

Chirtax's large black eyes got bigger. "Mistress! O, evil one, I feel a great power under the sands!"

She ignored him.

The pile of sand sunk into the depths of the desert reveling a long dark tunnel. Slowly, a shape began to rise to the surface, a tall shadowy figure, a dark silhouette on the milk-white moons of Dune, hair streaming out like an airborne river in the twilight's wind. Its very presence seemed to make the temperature plummet. With every breath it seemed to send out waves of an ancient evil, sending terror down the spines of all on the planet. From the winding serpents, to the deadliest of scorpions, to the minions huddled together in awed silence. Something had arisen, something of great and terrible power the universe had not seen for millennia and would never see again.

A long, evil grin crossed Vetvix's face as she spread her arms out to the heavens.

"It is done!"

The figure seemed to regard this with casual annoyance, it appeared to be rolling it's glowing yellow eyes. It walked slowly with cat-like grace, each step silent, as it approached stared the villain in the face, glowing eyes boring into hers without a trace of the submission, coyness, or vapid bloodlust held in the eyes of her usual minions- for this entity was no mere minion, no servant of any kind to anyone, even Vetvix could see that.

This was someone to be treated not with simple orders, but as an equal or this would never work. She would have to step cautiously if this dark entity was to enter her services.

"Art thou the one whom summoned me?"

Vetvix's grin grew even wider, "I am. You are free once again. And I have a bit of a proposition for you"

A shining row of fangs formed in a lustrous, malevolent smile spreading across the dark figure's face as Vetvix whispered into its long pointed ears. It suddenly lifted its head to the heavens and howled, a chilling cry that shot up into the night sky.

It was soon joined by Vetvix's malicious and insane laughter. Both soared into the skies of Dune with the unspoken message that spelled disaster.

The reign on Emperor Jon was soon to end!

AN: Aaaand that's chapter one! What do you think of it so far? Think I should continue?

Who exactly did Vetvix summon? What can it do? Can it defeat Pet Force? What came first, the chicken or the egg? Why is Odie's tongue so long? Why doesn't Sorcerer Binky clean his castle? Where do broken hearts go? Can they find their way home? Why do fools fall in love? Why am I asking **YOU** all this?! I don't know! WHY DON'T I KNOW?!

screams and jumps out the window

jumps back in

Reviews, please!

jumps back out


	2. Take a Step and I'm on My Way

Disclaimer: I don't own the disclaimer.

"_I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come._

_Take a step and I'm on my way, _

_Gonna start all over again"- Pokemon Advanced theme_

**Emperor Jon's Universe**

Sorcerer Binky sat upright in his bed, clutching his stuffed wizard teddy bear tightly.

He was shaking in a sweat colder than ice, eyes wide and bulging, slowly and happily dawning on the fact that it was only a dream. And what a horrible dream it was! He couldn't get over it, the dark eerie figure, with its blazing sinister yellow eyes, the ivory blood-tipped fangs, the foreboding silhouette across the moon, but most of all, that terrible howl and that bloodcurdling, unsettling laugh! And it was all so vivid, so real!

Almost as if- his eyes widened. Almost as if... it was actually happening. Something was seriously wrong here; something bad was about to happen. Something really bad.

There was no time to lose. Binky quickly put on his robes, and humongous shoes and headed for the emperor's palace.

"A dream and a feeling?" asked the yawning emperor, after hearing his sorcerer's description of his ordeal. "Don't you think it was just a nightmare or something? Maybe you had too much leftover chili pizza. I remember one time-"

"I don't think so, your highness. I wouldn't come all the way here in the middle of the night in my pajamas-"

"And bunny slippers" added the Emperor

"-Just for a bad dream" finished Binky, trying to ignore the slipper comment.

"Hmm. You have a point. So, what do you think it means?"

"I remember, O wise emperor near the end of the dream, hearing eerie, wicked laughter that I thought was very familiar. It's been driving me bonkers all night. Then, suddenly on my way here, it hit me."

Emperor Jon leaned forward, concerned. "Did it hurt?"

Binky's train of thought derailed. "Did what hurt?"

"What hit you"

"_What_ hit me?"

"What you said"

"What did I say?"

"That it hurt"

"Did what hurt- oh, never mind. On the way, I remembered where I'd herd that laughter before: Vetvix!"

Jon leaned back in his upholstered armchair, fingers clasped in what he hoped was a very serious hand gesture. "So, the evil vet's at large once again. I wonder how and when she broke out of her force field prison. We haven't heard of her in nearly a year and a half."

"Yeah, and if my feeling's right- and sorcerer's feelings usually aren't- she's been out of it for quite some time. Planning something terrible, much worse than what we've ever seen before. And whatever it is, it's beginning to arise. Something big. Really big. And bad. And really, really horrible. Did I mention it was big?"

"Wow..."

"Wow is right. I don't get these feelings often unless it's something serious. Something very serious, I don't think I even got this when the original Pet Force was destroyed"

"What can we do?"

"What else? We must summon Pet Force immediately!

"No, I meant what can we do about whatever hurt."

"What hurt?" asked Binky, as he pulled out his mini cauldron to summon the fantastic furry five.

"What hit you"

"What hit me?"

"What you said"

"What did I say?"

"That it hurt"

"That _what_ hurt?"

**Our universe, Mega-plex Theater**

Garfield scowled. "Is it me or is this a complete waste of my valuable time?"

"It's you. Now, eat your stale popcorn and be quiet. This is the best part!" snapped back Nermal.

The four pets, teddy bear and Jon sat front and center of the mega-plex screening of _"The Wrappings, Year One: Mummy's Revenge!" _the prequel to _The Wrappings _trilogyabout five archeologists that had to stop a team of undead mummies with mystical powers from destroying the world.) The prequel told the tale of the five mummies when they were all still alive in Ancient Egypt. Nermal had been pestering everyone (even more so than usual) about the movie for the past two months, then dragged everyone to see it with him on opening night.

"But I'm OUT of popcorn!" retorted the flabby tabby, holding up the empty popcorn bin.

"You ate ALL that popcorn and three candy bars in the past ten minutes?!" exclaimed Arlene.

"_Five_ candy bars: three Butter-slippers, one Smackers, and a package of gummi worms," growled Garfield. "But I'm **still **hungry, and this movie's **_terrible_**!"

Jon seemed to agree, though it was hard to tell, due to the fact his face was hidden behind sweaty, shaking, frightened hands. He'd been like this all night. He preferred the _Here Come the Nerds _movies a whole lot more than this. Too many swords and evil mummies in this movie and not enough plaid.

Nermal sat on the edge of his seat, wide eyed and exclaiming at every action scene with cries of "Wow! Did you see that!?" "Check out the special effects, it looks so lifelike!" and "Lookit! Dija see that?! Dija?!"

Arlene watched with mild interest, trying to pay attention to the plot, mentally noting the constant historical inaccuracies, and keeping Nermal from getting them thrown out of the theater with his constant talking all at the same time.

Odie was happily sleeping through the whole thing next to Pooky, who was wearing sunglasses for some reason.

Garfield began grumbling again about his lack of snacks and how fake the effects were, shoving Nermal away, as he grabbed onto his arm shouting something about a sword.

Jon leapt up, eager to get away from the scary movie as soon as possible. "I'll get more snacks! Be right back, guys!"

With that, he was off.

"And don't forget the nachos this time!" called Garfield

"Wow," whispered Nermal. "Never knew he could run that-"

The kitten's comment was cut off, for then the five friends suddenly vanished in a flash!

**Emperor Jon's Universe**

"Fast?" Abnermal said, finishing what he said before.

"Oh, no! Not again, I thought we were DONE with this superhero stuff!" groaned Garzooka. Then he thought for a moment. "But, at least we won't have to sit though that dumb movie."

"Dumb?! What do you mean, dumb?! That was the best movie ever!"

"You're insane! It was the stupidest, corniest thing I've ever seen, and I live with Jon!"

"You just don't have any taste in great cinema"

"You don't have any taste, _period_!"

"Oh yeah?! Well, you- wait a second. Why's it daytime all of a sudden?"

"That is partly why we have call you Pet Force." said Emperor Jon

"To celebrate daylight savings time?" asked Abnermal

"You know what? Keep your mouth shut for the rest of the day, you sound smarter like that," Garzooka snapped.

"Emperor Jon" Starlena began, trying to put the team back on track, "What has happened?"

"We aren't exactly sure yet, but Binky says it's something big. It was a dream he had"

"More like a vision, really" added the sorcerer.

Abnermal lifted an eyebrow skeptically. "Wait. You're telling me that you dragged us from a perfectly good movie to here because of a dream?"

"Vision!" argued Binky

"Whatever."

"As I was _saying_," continued the sorcerer, trying his best to ignore the snide comments and Odious drooling on his shoe, "Something of great evil has come forth, an ancient evil that Vetvix has somehow brought back to the universe."

"So, what do you think will happen now?"

"I think it means that we have two possibilities: One, this new evil has teamed up with Vetvix and will surely plunge all into two thousand years of darkness and torment and all beings will be slaves to their terrible will"

Starlena's brow furrowed "I see. And what is the best case scenario?"

"I'm afraid that WAS the best case scenario"

Compooky hovered over Binky's head. "Is there any further information you may provide us with?"

"Just that I'd suggest you begin your search for this new threat near the planet Metro, the veterinarian's life signs were last spotted there. And I would also suggest that you five take some precautions, this is no ordinary Vetvix minion we're dealing with"

"We've dealt with Vetvix before, and we can do it again, along with her new ally in evil, whoever it is," Garzooka said with a semi-heroic smirk.

Emperor Jon smiled at the heroes as they headed for the _Lightspeed Lasagna _"I know you will. Goodbye Pet force, and the best of luck to you"

Beside him, Sorcerer Binky muttered under his breath,

"You're going to need it."


	3. Don't Believe? Better Get Superstitious

Disclaimer: I don't own your soul. Yet.

"_Evil runnin' through our brain,_

_We and evil's about the same._

_Bad blood through our body flows,_

_Where's the love? _

_Nobody knows."_

_- Evil; Earth, Wind & Fire_

K-Niner growled as he strode down the long bleak hallway. It was draped in decorative things: skulls, roadkill, weaponry, vivid disturbing drawings of what the insides of Pet Force looked like, sounds of tortured souls, and generally all the things that made his master happy.

But the festive manner of the lair was lost on the warrior, seeing as how his head still rung from the torment he'd endured only moments before after Vetvix had brought him back to his upright form. He'd gotten a long speech/rant about his failure against Pet Force, but luckily she was giving him a second chance, since apparently she needed a good general to assist the new warrior and didn't feel like creating a new one. But that didn't save him from a half hour chewing out.

Curse those blasted tattletale servants of hers. It wasn't HIS fault the plan backfired! He would have succeeded if Vetvix had listened to him in the first place. Curse Pet Force; curse them all to the fire pits. Fangs clenched in the standard menacing manner of the Doberman, or six foot mutant Doberman with dagger fangs, to be precise.

As he approached his quarters a sound drifted into his ears. Not the sounds of classical music, truly one of the more glorious forms of song, but another kind of music. Something...that wasn't supposed to be there.

As he got closer the pounding notes (if he could even CALL such atrocities notes, sounded more to him like rabid jackals going mad by a full moon) drummed in his brain, heavy and bleak. Rock music. Eyes hidden behind a helmet of bronze turned to a crimson red, the shade of red from the blood of whatever horrid creature caused that horrid sound to be made.

But, turning, he discovered the music was not coming from his quarters, but instead from a room across the festooned hall, the skull of some unknown creature hung above it, words in a strange language written across the brow. He was positive a room hadn't been one there before, but then again, he HAD been away for quite some time.

K-Niner's first instinct was to storm into his own quarters, slam the door and jam cotton in his ears, but curiosity soon got the better of him.

As he entered he was entranced by some strange emotion somewhere crossed somewhere between astonishment, indigence, envy, and even more curiosity. The room matched that of a Dune temple, complete with fantastic statues, gems, furnishings, marble, ancient scrolls, and anything else one might find in a desert temple. But besides all things, something else captivated him more.

There, on a bed in the middle of a room was a jackal, a female jackal, to be exact, sitting cross legged, eyes closed in meditative silence on a bed swathed in a black satin comforter, decorated in glistening silver hieroglyphics similar to the ones engraved on the skull above her door. The loud music he heard would have been expected to be coming from a stereo the size of a small planet. But instead they came- from tiny headphones lodged in the jackal's rather large ears. They vibrated violently from the degree of volume, making her gold ankh earrings rattle and ring. How such large ears could tolerate such intensity without going deaf was unfathomable.

The warrior crossed his arms in a rather unhappy way, glaring down at a luxurious rug. Whether he was outraged or jealous, it was hard to tell. It was probably both.

"Who is this, what is it doing next to _me,_ and WHY does it have a better room than I?!" He thought aloud, in a hushed voice, positive he couldn't be heard making such an immature remark over the blaring melody.

The music came to a sudden halt. Piercing golden eyes snapped open and stared in his direction. They were completely devoid of emotion as she began to speak.

"I'm next to you because apparently the turtle-crow seems to loathe us both. I've better quarters because I am a better warrior. One would assume that a genetically enhanced 'genius' could figure that on his own. But that's what I get for making assumptions, I suppose. Ah, well. Can't always be right, can we?"

For a moment the Doberman of Destruction was speechless. No one in Vetvix's forces- no one _ever _had spoken to him in such a way.

The jackal's long tail wagged, "Awwww, wassamadda? Puppy can't speak?"

At this remark, he placed strode over to the jackal, pulling himself at full height, so that she had to crane her neck to see his face. "Madam," he said in his slick British accent that held menace behind a polite veil, "I shall have you know I am one of the most trusted members of Mistress Vetvix's forces, a true warrior of skill. I believe I have a right to know whom I address."

At this, the stranger stared at him for a bit, little sparks of mischievous interest seemed to dance in her golden eyes. Although K-Niner sought to keep a straight-faced intimidating manner, it was proving hard to do so. Never had he seen such a look in anyone's eyes before. Never. It was almost as if those mischievous sparks were about to spring out and do whatever little evil sparks do. He guessed it would not be fun. His ears twitched in discomfort as the jackal looked up at him calmly, then slowly levitated off her bed so that they were at muzzle level. A long, winding, mad, evil grin crept across her face.

"A warrior of skill? Ha! Honestly! Don't make me laugh. You sound more like a polite butler. Someone more likely to offer tea and crumpets to the enemy than inflict any actual harm."

That did it. Lady, or not, this ingrate had to learn some manners. A great muscled paw sprung out and rushed for the stranger's throat. Anger turned to astonishment as the paw halted in midair, twisted around, and honked his own nose like a clown's.

Ignoring the disgruntled Doberman's bewilderment, in fact ignoring the incident altogether, the jackal continued.

"As to the concern of who I am, I am known by many names: the Angel of Chaos, Master of the Sands, Bringer of Darkness, She Who Runs With Shadows, Matriarch of the Canis, and my particular favorite: run for cover, here she comes." She leaned back in midair, stretching her limbs in a relaxed manner and extended a casual paw. "But, for diplomatic purposes, you may simply call me Nefer-tut."

"Nefer-tut?" echoed K-Niner. He ran the name through his enhanced brilliant mind until the meaning came to him. "Ahhh, beautiful evil."

"Ah, you know the language of the sands. Mayhap the puppy is not so dense after all. As for the name, **I** certainly didn't choose it."

"Yes... I was rather displeased then Mistress Vetvix named me as well, but-"

At this point the calm nature of Nefer-tem vanished as she suddenly dropped back into her soft comforter and gave way to a fit of laughter. If one could call it that. It more resembled the wild screeches of someone gone completely insane, only contained in a small chortle.

K-Niner folded his arms "I fail to see what is so funny"

"You. You _honestly_ think that **I **could be ordered, much less created by THAT hack?! By the sands, dog, you insult me! She came to _me_, practically begging for my aid. That too, is why my room is better than yours, by the way."

A being with magic more powerful than the evil vet? Now he was interested.

"Anyway, my mother gave me that name. The last part I can deal with, but not the beautiful part. Too- unfitting."

"Really? I think it fits you rather well," said K-Niner with a charismatic smile.

The jackal blinked at him curiously, wondering if that was sarcasm, some kind of instinctive chivalry, or if perhaps he was merely being sincere. She decided not to waste any time thinking about it. "You know the old language, do you? I suppose Vetvix gave that to you as an added bonus?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not."

Nefer-tut yawned- revealing a pale lavender tongue resting between row upon row upon row of razor-sharp ivory fangs- and slid down off her fancy pillows to the marble floor for another stretch.

The Doberman raised his eyebrows in astonishment.

The way she moved was unearthly (ignoring the fact they weren't on earth in the first place) moving with a silent, deadly grace, looking much like some sort of liquid, the lights caught her smooth ebony fur, giving her the illusion of a long shimmering trickle of oil spilling onto the ashen marble. She wagged her long, slim tail at him casually, looking up at him with brilliant molten gold eyes, forcing K-Niner to avert his gaze. It was like staring into the sun, look too long and go blind, though in this case, he suspected one would go either mad or be permanently entranced. He didn't fancy finding out which.

He licked the side of his muzzle nervously. Besides, the way she was lying on the floor like that was somewhat... distracting. It wouldn't be gracious to stare.

Nefer-tut flashed another fanged sly smirk at him as she lay there. "So. K-Niner, to what do I owe the 'pleasure' of your company? I would assume that one with your genetically-altered genius such as yourself would not get lost, especially seeing as how my room is straight across the hall. The key word here, of course, is _assume_"

The Doberman smiled coolly, sensing the insult was a good-natured one. Perhaps she was adjusting to him, the aloofness earlier was only a formality for strangers. They said she was a deity of trickery (among other things), after all. In truth he didn't accept the claim she was some kind of goddess for one minute, but anyone with any sense knew this Nefer-tut held great ancient power more than worth considering. Besides, ancient evil or not, she was still a lady, and being the _polite_ bloodthirsty, vicious creature he was, she was deserving of utmost chivalry.

"My dear lady" he said in his most proper way of speaking "I simply wished to see who occupied this room, it's been empty for a long time, and you must understand my natural wish to investigate."

The jackal nodded and signaled him to continue.

"They tell me you're from ancient Kempt, what do you think of this century?"

The black jackal sat up in thought, waving long silver waterfalls of hair from her face. "'Tisn't bad. I have seen better, in any case. A bit disappointing, really; too much machinery and technology for my taste. Technology should have stopped with the chariot, if you ask me. I _do_ enjoy the music, though. Very nice. I suppose some things will never change, like Necro for instance."

"Necro?" asked the Doberman.

A new sharp voice snapped, "That's Necrofeere to you, poochey! Me, Necro, the bone terror, the one about to rip off your pretty helmet head if ye keep standing on my tail!"

Startled, K-Niner looked down to discover a living dragon skeleton about the size of a cat with dark, deep chasms for eyes that now had the faint reddish glow of anger. The little dragon hissed as a steel-toed boot lifted off its long tail. In a blur of white and clatter of bones it flew to Nefer-tut's shoulder. It then spat a blue fireball at K-Niner's head, leaving his metal helmet charred and glowing red from the heat.

"Isn't my sweet widdle Necro just pwecious?" cooed the jackal as rubbed her pet's chin affectionately. The creature arched his back like a cat and made a purring sound created with the rattling of his ribcage.

K-Niner coughed up a puff of black smoke. "Delightful"

"Of course! Who else to keep my mistress comp'ny all these centuries?" said Necro.

Suddenly the sphere hanging overhead began to flash a bright red, as did K-Niner's communication unit located on his arm.

"I do believe we are being summoned"

The dragon rolled its nonexistent eyes, "**Really**? Figure that out all by yourself?"

Gorbull growled at K-Niner's feet as the two canines waited in the lair of the evil veterinarian. Necro was curled around his master's neck in slumber, cerulean flames occasionally flickering out its nose when the dragon exhaled. K-Niner inwardly pondered how a skeleton could exhale in the first place, trying to ignore the snarling mutant at his heals. The jackal stood beside him gazing indifferently at a tank full of carnivorous mutant fish and a frog/newt.

The double doors flew open dramatically and Vetvix strode into the room in full glory and placed herself in front of a large pane of glass, a smile of pure anticipation plastered across her face. Gorbull made a happy sound at his master's entrance, then went back to growling at K-Niner.

"Ahhh, a fine night for evil! Nefer-tut, K-Niner, I trust you both are ready to get started?"

"We are" replied K-Niner, bowing. Nefer-tut gave only the slightest nod in greeting.

"Now," said the vile vet "I've only a half hour until the new weaponry arrives, so I'll make this quick. Pet Force has arrived."

At the mention of the heroes, the Doberman's titanic jaws clenched, eager for battle. The glass pane shimmered, shone and warped until a rather blurry image of Emperor Jon's throne room appeared.

"A looking glass?" the jackal inquired with slight amusement.

"It's all we've got for now," muttered Vetvix in an irritated tone "I _used_ to have an excellent crystal ball, but that horrendous Garzooka destroyed it"

"And he would be?"

"The big orange muscle bound idiot arguing with the little gray annoying idiot."

At the sight of Pet Force, the growl in K-Niner's throat rumbled even louder, his fangs bared, glistening in the fluorescent light, fervent and anticipating his chance at revenge. Vetvix explained who each of the figures assembled in the throne room were, leaving out what powers the superheroes possessed at the jackal's request, who insisted she would relish the battle more if their abilities came as a surprise.

Nefer-tut moved closer to the glass for closer inspection and tapped the image of the emperor.

"So _this _is the currant ruler of the universe, is it? He looks and sounds like a pushover, a weakling, a bleeding heart, a dotard, an ignoramus, and one with apparently no knowledge whatsoever of the meaning of the word 'fashionable'. A craven, flinching little thing. I would say he is a useless invertebrate with no more backbone in him than a fluff of cotton, but that would be a compliment, and one of the highest standard at that!"

She tossed her lengthy tendrils of silver hair over a shoulder in disgust.

"Why, he is nothing but a sniveling mouse hiding behind a throne he does not deserve! Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic! I recall the glorious days when rulers were strong, proud, ruthless! Nothing and no one would ever dare challenge them, lest they were eager for a slow and agonizing death on the black wings of torment. They were wise, fierce, noble, zealous, strong, cunning, and always knew exactly what they were doing. This monarch is barely even a sad, sad parody, an insult, and a travestied mockery of the glory of what the word sovereign once meant! How utterly pitiful, how sad. How this universe has not collapsed in on itself is well beyond me, and that is a very rare occurrence.

Vetvix smirked. She liked the way this jet ancient spoke. Very much so. "So you see why you are needed dark one" she hissed in an oily voice

"Indeed. If the best bet you have is this fancy butler pup, than I most certainly am."

At this remark, K-Niner shot her a cold glare. She ignored him and went on.

"I haven't seen a good battle in a good long time, I'm assuming this "emperor's" army is at least somewhat strong, yes?"

"If it wasn't I would already be in power"

"Hmmm." A long malevolent smile slithered across Nefer-tut's face that made even Gorbull cringe. "Gooood."

"I'm glad you see it that way, Nefer-tut. With both you and K-Niner on my side both Pet Force and the rule of Jon will soon be nothing but a memory! Now, go carry out the plans for a new order the likes of which the universe has never seen! The rule of Emperor-"

"_Empress_" corrected K-Niner

Vetvix paused in mid evil speech. "What?"

"As a female, you would be an empress, not an emperor."

The vet fixed her creation with a threatening glare. "You dare to tell me what I already know?!"

"Did you know that?"

"I- well- Oh, just go forth with your mission! I don't have time for this. The battle cruiser and my soldiers are waiting for you. I'm confident you will not fail me."

The two canines gave a nod and began to leave.

Necro suddenly awoke and looked around him, blinking in confusion. "Wait! Could you explain the part about- everything?"


	4. Evil's Lurking, I Can See Him Smirking

"_It was a great comfort knowing that the gods were there. _

_It was knowing they were here that was the terrible part"_

_-Pyramids; Terry Pratchett _

The battle cruiser, now dubbed the _Malevolent Mercenary, _glided silently through the silent blackness of space, a great colossus among a sea of stars.

On board, Nefer-tut made a whining sound as she looked around her with an air of both curiosity and disgust. This much technology in one spot was unnerving, thank the gods for the dark magic to help even out things. She didn't have much knowledge of how the modern battle cruiser worked, and didn't really care, so long as it did the job.

But the ship had a very nice surround sound stereo system. She liked that.

The air seemed crackle with raw excitement aboard the ship. The air was virtually dripping with anticipation affecting everyone from K-Niner, to the numerous soldiers of various creature combinations, to the lowliest of servants. Nefer-tut glanced at the countless soldiers talking excitedly in the wings, whispering rumors, laughing, boasting their skill, and wondering when lunch would be. Quite a few held plasma guns, bazookas, mortars, laser cannons, machine guns, and death-launchers (a rifle that shot various deadly weapons; a jagged poison tipped hook on a chain was one of the more popular weapons). A small few had explosives tucked away in their belts and vests. One odd fellow even had a lawn-chair for a weapon, which he swung about the deck with gusto.

Nefer-tut blinked. This era certainly was a change. Guns. Explosives. Lawn-chairs. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned swords, axes, chariots, and arrows? The only soldier with a weapon she could recognize using was the fanged gerbil/bat that carried and arsenal of poison darts and a switchblade. According to K-Niner, the majority of Vetvix's forces mainly used the special fighting abilities they were created with; only a chosen few had weapons in addition to that, and those were only the most skilled and with rank.

"If you're as important as you say, when why don't _you _possess one?" the jackal had asked.

To which the warrior turned with a whimsical smile, "My dear, that is because I do not need one." He then flexed his right arm to display impressive bulging biceps, extending long claws that glinted in the florescent lights.

Nefer-tut smiled. She well approved of that answer, perhaps this silver tongued domesticate deserved more credit than she'd given him. He might have even gained her respect (a feat that no one had accomplished in five thousand and thirty six years), if he hadn't started showing off his muscles like some moronic bodybuilder.

If there was one thing Nefer-tut couldn't stand, it was arrogance (Well, that and reality TV shows). All that strutting around, showing off and boasting to everyone about how they were just about the best thing to ever live, how nothing could ever possibly defeat them. Disgusting. The very thought brought a nasty snarl to her face. She recalled the many warriors and armies that grew too big for their britches and dared to challenge the might of Kempt. It always did her black heart good to see the look on some pompous fighter's face when his (sometimes her) strength that inspired so much bragging was next to nothing compared to hers. Oh, how she _adored_ that look of absolute disbelief that crossed their face before they were destroyed. Perhaps that was the part of battle Nefer-tut relished most of all.

If this Pet Force Vetvix was fighting against acted the same (and if she knew the her do-gooding foes- which she did- they certainly would) then all those centuries trapped in that pyramid was well worth it. After five thousand and thirty six years, Nefer-tut, dark essence of the sands would finally see battle. The thought brought on a giddy chuckle that soon grew into near hysterics, mad laughter echoing through the metallic walls of the battleship.

K-Niner gave her an odd look, "Care to share what's so amusing?"

"It's a jackal thing," she said, the flightiness slowly winding down "Don't worry about it"

"I'm not" he replied.

Nefer-tut pulled Necro onto her lap and stroked his smooth skull. "So, you're fought this enemy before- this 'Pet Force'?"

"I have."

"And you lost"

K-Niner's muscle-bound chest puffed indignantly, "I'll have you know I was _winning_ in my duel with the leader of the group when an electrical surge occurred and I was but an ordinary dog again. What was I to do?"

The jackal's golden eyes softened in a sad, pitied gaze.

He raised a brow suspiciously "What?"

"It's just that I don't really see how that makes any difference"

The Doberman twitched his right ear, wondering if she was mocking him again. It was often hard to tell with Nefer-tut.

Necrofeere yawned and allowed his mistress to run her claws against his ribs like a xylophone. "The will to fight," she explained "the passion to win, the desire of victory is universal, you poor, poor, misguided pup. It makes no difference if you're on four legs or two. You lost because you _allowed _it."

K-Niner dug his own claws into the armrest. "I lost because I _allowed _it? Are you completely out of your mind?!"

Necro's head made a 360-degree turn at him and smiled a crooked, unsettling smile "Yesssssssss".

K-Niner held back a shudder "I'll ask you not to do that..."

"What?" asked the dragon as his creepy grin widened even more "THIS? He moved closer shoving his disturbing smile in K-Niner's face "Whooooooooo, I'm _spoooooky_!"

The Dark Angel of Chaos placed her assistant on the floor, telling him it wasn't nice to emotionally scar his fellow evildoers. At least, not before battle.

Nefer-tut popped a dog biscuit in her mouth and continued, "What I mean is that you could have kept on fighting, even in your four-legged form"

"But-"

"He was bigger and with superpowers? You were both surprised by the transformation I suspect, and you already had the upper paw. You easily could've leapt at his throat, or maybe pawed out his disturbingly large eyes. After all, that's what your kind was bred for. Or _inbred_ for." She giggled at her own little joke.

"O Bringer of Darkness, you must remember," hissed Necro, looking at K-Niner in an I'm-better-than-you-are sort of way, "The dogs of this era have gotten stupid and lazy. They aren't like the ones back in the days of Kempt. Not that you can tell the intelligence difference from _this _metal-head"

The despicable Doberman waved him off "Anyway, what's past is past."

"Agreed," purred Nefer-tut as her trademark fanged smile spread evilly across her face, and stood in one liquid-like movement. She silently called Necrofeere to her shoulder, the undead dragon flexing his long bone claws happily.

The _Malevolent Mercenary _began to silently approach the planet Mêlée, a peaceful planet that mainly studied magic, battle skills, and how to make tomato soup. This was where most people trained to be soldiers to defend the universe and their emperor. And to make soup.

The soldiers of Vetvix readied their weapons.

Nefer-tut and K-Niner stood tall gazing out at the planet with pure wickedness gleaming in their eyes. The jackal wagged her long tail in evil glee "The past is far behind us" she purred, running a lavender hued tongue over bloodthirsty fangs "Let us now look to the future"

The two grinned evilly as the landing sequence began. Mêlée was in for a big surprise.

"-three million bottles of milk of the wall, three million bottles of milk! You throw one down, pass it around, two million nine thousand ninety nine bottles of milk on the wall! Two million nine thousand ninety nine bottles of milk on the wall, two million nine thousand ninety nine bottles of -"

Abnermal's song was suddenly cut short by a huge furry paw clamped over his mouth.

Garzooka glared down at the gray annoyance. "Abnermal. You. Will. Be. **_Quiet_**."

Abnermal squirmed in his leader's strong grip, legs kicking comically in the air and trying to continue his annoying ballad, despite the mass of orange fur lodged over his mouth.

Odious sat on the floor looking back and forth between the argument, tongue lolling out happily as the annoying kitten eventually managed to remove Garzooka's paw from his face, coughing and complaining that he was going to have fur in his throat for a week. He then picked up where he left off. There were now two million nine thousand ninety one bottles of milk on the wall.

Starlena turned to them, "Sorry to interrupt the musical, but does anyone actually _know _where we're going?"

"I believe we are on course for the planet Metro." Compooky explained, ignoring Odious who listened over head, drooling all over his monitor. "It is where the last sighting of the veterinarian took place."

"Well, she's not there now." said Starlena, checking a monitor "I don't see any sign of Vetvix anywhere. She might be light-years away by now."

"So how are we supposed to find this new friend of Vetvix? Hand out surveys?" Abnermal asked, hands on hips.

Starlena's answer was cut short by a buzzing sound from the communications panel, a transmission was coming through. It sounded urgent.

The faces of Emperor Jon and Sorcerer Binky soon appeared on screen, neither looking too happy- especially Binky who looked paler than usual. The sorcerer kept looking into his portable mini cauldron, to Jon, to Pet Force, than back to the cauldron, wringing his robes in his hands.

"Pet Force!" said the emperor "Vetvix's forces have struck the planet Mêlée!"

Without question the thrusters came to life and with a vivid burst of orange and red shot forth the _Lightspeed Lasagna _through the void of space toward the planet in need.

"Thanks to Vetvix's new pet?" asked Garzooka.

Binky turned to stare at him, the look of turmoil on his face seemed to darken with each passing second. "Err... 'pet' isn't the word I'd use if I were you. This is...well, maybe you'd better take a look." The mini cauldron was turned to face the five heroes as they looked on in horror.

Mêlée, or what was left of it, was a portrait of complete disarray. Buildings were decimated down to steel skeletons and shambles of stone and glass, citizens ran anarchic in the streets, their faces twisted in masks of terror, their screams filling the air as they scrambled to get as far away from the destruction as possible. A few were being pursued by strange shadowy creatures with glowing red eyes that flew by the air and seemed to slide like shadows along the ground laughing in crackling voices with demonic pleasure at the planet's dread. Squadrons of Mêlée's finest, soldiers and citizens alike, were entangled in battle with the misshapen minions of Vetvix, lashing out with everything they could use a weapon- from plasma cannons to ordinary steak knives, to paperweights- and it appeared they were losing and losing very badly. Garzooka's eyes widened as he noticed the figure right in the middle of the fray.

"K-Niner!" all of Per Force shouted at once.

All except Odious, who cocked his head curiously, something else had caught his attention. He was looking around as if he heard something the others did not, his brow crinkled as his brain tried to figure out, working overtime. In his preoccupied confusion, the muscle-bound hound paid no attention to where he was going and slipped in a puddle of his own drool.

His antic were unnoticed by his teammates, all of whom were transfixed by the terrible images that flashed across the screen.

K-Niner hurled soldiers high above his head like a Olympic javelins left and right, his claws slashing and jaws gnashing as the setting sun glinted almost evilly off his helmet. A diabolical smile was on his face as he plowed through the emperor's forces, laughing in demented glee. The look in his eyes was one of pure undaunted delight as two more came at him and were demolished, his head then threw back and howled with rapture. But, if one had listened very closely, they may have noticed that the howl was in fact joining in harmony with another, one much too pure, too erratic, too beguiling to be picked up by any mere communication device.

"But- but how? I thought we already trounced K-Niner!" Abnermal exclaimed. "How'd he get back on two legs?"

"How else?" growled Garzooka "Vetvix just made him smart again, that's all."

Abnermal nodded confidently "Besides, we've flattened K-Niner into doggie pizza before, we can do it again."

"There's no need to insult pizza!" put in Garzooka.

However, in the back of everyone's mind (except maybe Odious') despite Abnermal's annoying reassurances, remembered what a challenge K-Niner was the last time they encountered him and wondered if they could indeed do it again.

Emperor Jon continued, "And that's not even the worst of it. He's got help this time, serious help. Someone much more powerful in the dark arts, combat skills, cunning and I'd hate to think what else."

"This is no minion," added Binky "Vetvix didn't even create this one. Her name, from what I can gather from witness accounts, is Nefer-tut, a jackal from over five thousand years ago. I assume Vetvix summoned her combining her own dark magic with one from an ancient Kempt ruin."

"Kempt?" asked Starlena.

"An ancient civilization of this universe" Compooky explained. Images of temples. Stone palaces, and massive pyramids appeared on his monitor, hieroglyphics scrolling along the bottom. "It is much like the ancient Egypt in our own universe."

"Oooh! Like the _Wrappings _movies? Will there be mummies? And swordfights? And evil magical statues that come to life and step on everyone?" Abnermal was obviously more than thrilled at the thought of his favorite movie coming to life.

"Mummies?" questioned Binky "I doubt it, but I wouldn't put it past her. This jackal, you see is not like any other enemy this universe has seen for thousands of years. Nefer-tut isn't a servant of Vetvix, in fact it may be the other way around because Nefer-tut...is a goddess. An evil unlike we've ever seen, she must be stopped!"

"Hey, that's my line," protested the emperor. "The army still hasn't left Mêlée, you've still got a good chance of stopping this K-Niner and his new friend before they do any more damage."

"Obviously. We're off."

Emperor Jon nodded relieved "Good luck to you Pet Force". The screen went blank.

"A goddess..." breathed an awed Starlena.

Abnermal nodded in agreement "Sounds really tough."

Garzooka crossed his powerful arms with the utmost confidence "Goddess or not she's still on the side of evil and that means this Nefer-tut's going down."

Compooky beeped as a calculation ran through is amazing super-computer brain "I calculate Pet Force's success rate at 95," he said as cheerfully as a cyber-bear could.

"There, you see? We'll put those pups down no sweat."

The rest of his teammates nodded in agreement, excluding Odious who was still literally staring into space.

"Now," said Garzooka, looking more serious than he ever did, "We've still got fifteen minutes before we arrive. So...what's for lunch?"


	5. Let the Laughter Fill Your Glass

**AN:** _Em hotep _loyal readers, glad to see you're still with us! I was delighted to see such wonderful reviews; it's nice to know that people are reading and that they like it. Many apologies for the delay in posting this chapter, but as some of you know this fan fiction somehow got erased. Afterwards, for some reason the stupid floppy wouldn't work right and I couldn't upload... It's a long story. But anyway, it's here now. Huzzah.

* * *

Such is the nature of the world. Life will torture you if you let it.

It gives you cancer and injury, but it also gives you beer and butterflies.

The world is pure nonsense. Accept that and enjoy the silly ride."

- James Kochalka; _Fantastic Butterflies_

* * *

"_That_ was disappointingly easy," sighed Necrofeere, blue flames spurting casually out his skull. It perched upon what was once a very fine marble statue, now disfigured into some sort of headless, limbless, malformed creature, a casualty of the battle.

The undead minion, along with K-Niner, currently lounged in the main hall of what was once the proud and lavish capitol house of Mêlée, now a proud and lavish trademark for the first of what would be many glorious victories of the dark goddess of the sands, Nefer-tut. As he had smugly announced this earlier, the turtle/crow (Wilbur, was it? What sort of name was that for a minion anyway?) pointed out that the seizure of planet Mêlée was a victory for _Vetvix_, not the jackal.

Necrofeere scoffed, skeletal tail lashing furiously at the very notion.

As if the Angel of Chaos would **ever** serve a _human_! As if a _goddess_ would ever kneel before a mortal sorceress! The very idea was nothing short of blasphemy! In the days of yore, back when things were done _right,_ such a profane tongue would be ripped from the mouth and eaten. And that was if they were very, very lucky.

Besides, who was it that led the assault in the first place? Who was it with white fangs gnashing and elated voice laughing slashed through Mêlée's forces like soft butter? Who was it with fresh glistening blood on her claws, who was it with the utmost dark and pious elegance took down the emperor's military without even one casualty, without even breaking into a sweat?

Who was it that now stood with pride atop the capitol building at this very moment, silhouetted by the ivory moon and before thousands petrified citizens looking on in mortal terror, sung a beautiful song of victory to the heavens? Whose enticing voice now rang above the decimated shamble that once was one of the greatest military training planets of all time? _Who_?

Certainly not Vetvix, she was still lounging on her soft ornamental pillows in her fancy room eating gourmet food, looking at what she _assumed_ would soon be hers, waiting for the universe to be simply plopped into her lap to rule over. Waiting to be handed a victory she did not earn.

A nasty spurt of blue ember collided with an unfortunate vase.

How dare she regard the lady Nefer-tut's work in such disregard! How DARE she! The undead creature curled its bony tail around impatient claws as growing malice festered in its nonexistent heart. It was disgusting. If this kind of ignorance was common, there was certainly a lot of cleaning up to do if this universe was to meet the standards of She Who Runs With Shadows. Like the battle this afternoon. What the heck was _that_? Not even close to a challenge, even the weakest empires of the old age put up more than a fight than Mêlée did. Surely this new age of technology and chrome had more of a fight in it!

"That," he repeated, "Was _disappointingly_ easy".

K-Niner glared at the dragon from a velvet chesterfield as Chirtax, the lizard/gerbil, tended to his bare back.

Easy for _him_ to say, that incompetent bag of bones didn't do a thing except fly around cackling and setting things of fire. _He _wasn't the one dueling it out with Mêlée's finest; after all, it wasn't the training planet of the emperor's forces for nothing. _He _wasn't the one shot in the lower back. Not only that, but shot with one of the newer models, one with a laser that slashed into the skin. Now, along with the knife wound given to him earlier in the battle, the wound grew larger, an ugly splotch of red and brown, defiling his flawless jet-black fur. The Doberman drew back his ears and winced in pain as iodine was rubbed into his raw, throbbing wounds. Claws drove deep into the cushion, savagely ripping through the fancy material as if it were at the receiving end of some demented surgeon as he convulsed in agony, panting heavily.

Chirtax shrunk back fearfully; his furry little gray head seemed to sink into his scaled shoulders as he quickly uttered an apology.

Necro snickered viciously and spat a little blue fireball at the gerbil's head, blasting the jar of iodine into a thousand shards of glass and ashes. Chirtax squealed and cowered in a shivering little gray ball, whimpering pitifully. His whiskers and fur were singed with black, as he was only centimeters away from complete annihilation.

K-Niner lifted a brow, "I say, that's not very sporting of you."

The dragon grinned evilly, "I know." But the sadistic mood vanished as quickly as it appeared, and Necrofeere once more slipped into its impatient murk. With an irritated lash of his tail he began to pace back and forth upon the green marble floor. "When the heck's these Pet Force fellows 'sposed to show up? Are they even going to come at all?"

The agony cutting into K-Niner's back finally began to decline, and he was finally able to take deep breaths again, though his body was still trembling with post-trauma. He glared into the intricate patterns his claws had forcibly carved into what had once been the finest chesterfield on all Mêlée, silent as memories showed themselves in the recesses of his mind. A grim, silent snarl crossed his muzzle. "Don't you worry," he said in a voice just above a whisper. "They'll get here. They always do. They'll be here…"

Necro shot several puffs of violet smoke into the air tiredly, "If you say so, helmet head."

The Doberman ignored him and looked about, an expression of annoyance on his face. "Where _is_ that blasted tea I asked for?"

Chirtax stared up at him with dark frightened eyes. "I-I-I don't know master K-Niner, sir. It should have arrived by now, shouldn't it?" When the lizard/gerbil didn't get a response he began occupy himself with gathering an extra bottle of salve.

He silently thanked the powers-that-be K-Niner wasn't as sadistic as the clattering dragon skeleton. Chirtax held back a shudder as he stole a glance at the creature. This sort of thing was never meant to walk among the living; it wasn't even _alive_. The only thing that kept it going was pure evil magic, the sort that made empires crumble and brought titans to their knees. He knew this for a fact, the evidence was laying all around him; Mêlée wasn't just some run-of-the-mill boot camp, it was probably the finest combat center in all the universe, and yet this magic, this force, had dismantled it in a little less than an hour. It frightened him deeply, and despite the fact he and his peers weren't exactly authentic creatures themselves, this creature seemed more than a simple mutation of nature- this thing it was just…_wrong_ somehow. If this undead creature that conjured flames of the underworld could be so easily controlled by this jackal, this Nefer-tut, who knew what other horrors she was capable of? Chirtax wasn't eager to find out.

Behind him, he could hear the sound of a new set of paws on marble and the warm, rich scent of wine, fresh blood, and lotus blossoms drifted in the air. The fur on the back of his neck and tail began to tingle and stand on end. He gulped hard and focused all his mind on spreading the salve across the evil Doberman's back.

Speak of the devil… He then wished he'd had a better choice of words.

Perhaps he was better off with Vetvix after all…

K-Niner's head jolted upright as the dark goddess Nefer-tut entered the decimated throne room, trying his best to ignore the jolting pain racing across his fur. She entered without a word nor acknowledgement, casually leaning on the chesterfield, gazing out into the distance. Necrofeere made a small sound of elation and flew on rotted wings to her ankles, bones rattling happily, spouting little glowing sparks as he danced on his hind legs and grinned, looking like a household pet whose master had returned after a long day.

The Doberman frowned; something seemed different about her.

For one thing, instead of the brilliant bronze armor she had donned earlier as they charged into the battle of Mêlée, she now wore a long flowing robe seemingly made of the night sky, bright and sparking yet shady and subtle, that hugged her figure and cascaded around her being at the same time as it trailed across the marble floor.

Certainly not the attire to be combating in, much less against formidable opponents such as Pet Force. If anything, she looks more prepared to be attending a ballroom dance or awards ceremony. Their opponents were well on their way; surely she could sense them coming? Perhaps it was some Kempt tradition of mockery against them, saying that armor wasn't necessary to face off against them, to say that it would be so easy one could even do it in a ball gown.

The society of Kempt was a rather satirical one and after all, Nefer-tut _was _supposed to be the deity of trickery.

Maybe it was a ruse.

Maybe it was a joke.

Or maybe the lady Nefer-tut was just nuts; with her it was near impossible to tell. He licked his nose nervously and cocked his head in curiosity, ears twitching.

The jackal noticed this and turned to him with a wagging tail and smiling face. "Hi!" she said merrily.

And K-Niner just stared, awestruck. She was _smiling_ at him- not evilly, or in mockery- just a modest, genuine smile that spoke of nothing but serene gladness. The thing was, (and this was what made the canine breathless) she somehow pulled this off with an air that was of pure innocence, yet still beguiling and seductive and dangerous.

He gulped, a rather large lump forming in his Adam's apple. Only moments ago she was storming through Mêlée like a cyclone, a pure, pitiless, destructive, demonic force with no qualms of mercy, nor of innocence of any sort as she tore through the helpless planet. Yet now, not even two hours anon, all traces of malice, of bloodlust, of lust for power, of malevolence, of anything she had so joyously displayed was gone. Completely vanished.

The being now standing before him was smiling him with an expression of pure innocent joy, like a small child- the kind that sang about lollipops and rainbows. Beings with such undaunted purity of the soul usually didn't go on violent massacres.

K-Niner cocked his head to one side. This couldn't be the same Nefer-tut. It _couldn't. _How could it be?

And yet it was. Such a drastic change of persona was foreign concept to the Doberman; an impossibility. And if this jackal would make the impossible possible, then who knew what else she was capable of?

Not exactly sure how to respond to Nefer-tut's cheerful response, but knowing he should, he politely smiled back. He also knew that in this situation he, as any other sane mortal being would, should very well be afraid but for some reason wasn't. "Err… hello, lady. You certainly seem in good spirits tonight."

The jackal's head cocked to one side and leaned over K-Niner's back, her smile becoming significantly smaller, then vanishing altogether.

'Oh, that **can't**_ be good.' _

Chirtax gulped and shut his eyes tightly as he felt the chilling sensation of sweet breath rustling his fur, shivering violently despite the sudden warmth swirling around him. Nefer-tut's sharp nose began to sniff and survey the damage done to the Doberman's back and how the healing was getting on, rustling the fur of both patient and healer as she did so, and making both feel rather uncomfortable. There was a clicking sound as Nefer-tut pulled away from the injured warrior, and circled once around the chesterfield, a look of mixed concern and disappointment cascading across her face.

She clicked her tongue again disapprovingly, "Well now, this certainly will _not_ do."

At her disapproving glance, Chirtax squeaked in mortal terror, each strand of fur standing on end, each silvery scale quaking with fear as he shut his eyes tightly and cringed in preparation for the grisly demise surely to come. At this sight, Nefer-tut's frown darkened, and a quiet growl came forth in her throat, growing louder with each second that went by.

K-Niner looked on at the situation with a growing curiosity. It was clear the lady was quite displeased with the handiwork, but why had she not simply destroyed (or… eaten?) the offending creature? Was this some odd form Kemptian form of torture? The earlier brightness must have been a ruse after all.

A sharp bark split the silence and there was a brilliant flash of white as without warning the jackal snapped at the mutant creature's face, the fangs missing only by an inch. The gerbil/lizard made the squeaking sound again in both surprise and fear as he fell back onto the cold marbled floor. At this reaction, Nefer-tut gave a yip of exasperation and poked the creature's scaled backside with a foot paw. "You. Healer! Look at me. Open your eyes and _look _at me!" A pair of large brown eyes stared at his addressor, eyes filled with terror and in the smallest corners pathetic tears brewed. "Better. Healer, what is your name?"

The servant gulped, "I-I am Ch-Chirt-t-tax, O exalted one."

The jackal leaned down, down, down, until she was at snout level with the healer, "Well then Chirtax, answer me this: why do you cower like some sniveling coward when you are in one of the greatest fortresses in all the realm? Why do you act as if you are a worm, cringing and crawling on the ground? Show some dignity, Chirtax and stand. Stand with whatever pride and courage is left in your scaly hide." With that, a black paw reached down and pulled the frightened healer to his feet.

The gerbil/lizard shivered where he stood, hardly daring to whimper, "For give me, your Dark Eminence, but I am only a servant. I-I'm supposed to show respect. Isn't obedience what you desire?"

"Yes, but that's no excuse for becoming a sniveling lackey. Even lowly fleas carry themselves with some sort of self-worth!"

Chirtax stepped back nervously, trembling on his paws as golden eyes began to glitter wickedly in the capitol building's fluorescent light. Now only centimeters from the goddesses' (and he was sure of this now, for this jackal could be nothing short of a god) jaws, and could feel sweet breath caress his whiskers.

The gerbil/lizard gasped as ebon paws again lifted him from the floor and held him in the air as if he were catch of the day. He didn't even bother to struggle; her grip was like a vice.

"Chirtax? Dost thou know what I do with frightened minions?" Her captive fearfully shook his head. "I give them… a HUG!" Laughing, Nefer-tut clutched Chirtax to her robe in a joyous squeeze and set him down where he was.

K-Niner's jaw fell open in shock. Mad this lady was. Completely and totally mad.

Necrofeere's laugh echoed through the room, "A grand jest mistress!"

The Doberman ignored him, still staring in shock at the giggling jackal. "I- you- he- What was _that_ all about!" Nefer-tut turned to him giggling and twirled in a little jig, letting the folds of her robe flair out and dance in in the air. "For _fun_, silly-pants!"

"For fun? Are you insane!"

""No. Well… not really. Umm… what was I doin'?"

This time, K-Niner laughed as well. A smile, jovial and bright conquered the goddess's face "There, you are! Laughter's the greatest healer there is. Just look at thy spine, warrior who is much too grim. See what laughter has done!"

He looked. The nasty, foul wound festering in his in his perfect ebony pelt had indeed healed. Not only healed, but it was as if the injury had never occurred at all, the wound had vanished completely, along with the agony it had carried.

"But.. How? What did you do?"

Necro spat indignantly "Dost thou ever listen! The laughter provided the energy necessary to heal thy ungrateful self. 'T'was all a jest, you domestic twit."

"The way you were acting I was certain that servant would've been eaten, or destroyed, or… worse."

Nefer-tut laughed softly this time, a chime-like sound. "Now, what would have come of that? I would've lost a fine healer, without him I doubt you'd be able to walk again. I also suspect Vetvix lacks in medics. To destroy him would've been a tragic folly. He was really the one who fixed your back; I simply decided to use my good mood to speed up the process with a joke. Neat, huh?"

The Doberman smiled weakly. "I can't believe it."

Necrofeere nodded toward Chirtax, currently passed out on the floor; he'd fainted dead away. "From the looks of it neither can he."

Yes, this was sort of a filler chapter, but it's building up to something good. And it'll be mighty important later on. Pet Force should be coming into the spotlight next chapter, with a confrontation at hand. Yay!


End file.
